Shani's Kingdom
by Fridgee
Summary: The new princess is born into the Pride Lands, starting her own adventure.
1. Chapter 1: Shani

**Chapter 1: Princess Shani**

The couple both stared down at their new edition with a quizzical expression.  
"Where on _Earth_ did that come from?" Kovu asked.  
"I-I'm not sure. But I still love her just the same." Kiara responded to her husband.  
"Me too, I wouldn't exchange her for the world!" the king lifted his daughter into his arms.  
The newborn cub was pure white, excluding the cream tufts on her head and tail and the piercing blue eyes she possessed. Although seeming odd in colour, there were no health issues in this young one, Rafiki assured them of this.

* * *

"WOAH!" the young cub named Pini exclaimed, "She looks so weird!".  
"Pini! You should have more respect for the new princess!" Pini's mother scolded her.  
"Oh.. right, sorry.." she responded guiltily, ears lowering.  
"It's fine Pini, we found her colouring to be quite odd too." Kiara smiled at the young girl.  
Pini noticeably perked up after the Queen's kind words, returning to her normal demeanour.  
"Sooo, what's her name?" the grey cub asked.  
"We've decided to name her Shani" Kiara and Kovu looked at each other smiling.  
Upon hearing her new name the young cub rolled over in her mother's arms, sneezing, which disturbed her sleep for only a second. It was obvious that her company all found her adorable because an audible "Aww" came out of all of their mouths.  
"Come on Pini, we should leave the royal family to rest," Yumi nodded and turned, much to Pini's dismay.  
"Bye Shani! We'll be great friends!"


	2. Chapter 2: Betrothed

**Chapter 2: Betrothed**

A few weeks had passed and Shani had grown into a more adventurous, but still shy cub. While appreciating Pini's company, the princess sometimes found her presence too "in-your-face" for her taste, however, they were still good friends. There were a few other cubs in the pride, all around the same age, which was great; they all kept each other occupied. Kuhti, a dark brown male cub was one of the quieter lions in the group, Shani and he got along quite well and often sat together when the other cubs were being too much for them. They were a bit bolder around each other.

* * *

"Hey Kuhti!" Shani trotted over to him.  
Kuhti was sitting with his mother in the shade, relaxing.  
"Hi Shani!" he smiled a big toothy grin at her arrival, "Where is everyone today?"  
Shani giggled, "They're all getting baths."  
"Oh, I bet they're _loving_ that," he laughed.  
"Oh, thank you for reminding me Shani," Dumi said as she smiled and lifted Kuhti onto the sunning rock, "Kuhti needs his bath."  
"Ohhw, Mum!" Kuhti protested, wriggling trying to escape her unrelenting grasp.  
"So, I was wondering if you wanted to play after you got your bath?" she stared at him, raising her eyebrows, "well, if your mother says you can, of course."  
"Can I Mum?! Please?" he looked at her with his big purple eyes.  
"Sure, but you have to stay close by me, in my sight," Dumi answered.  
"Okay!" the cubs replied in unison.

* * *

Kuhti's bath ended soon enough and as soon as he jumped down from the rock Shani and tapped his shoulder and yelled "You're it!" and ran off. Dumi had reminded them of their rules as they ran off. Although Kuhti was older than the creamy cub, he wasn't as fast as she was and she could blend in quite well with her surroundings. Shani ran into some long grass, crouching down staring at her hunter.  
"Shani?" he called out, "Shani, where did you go?!"  
The cub waddled along muttering about how this wasn't fair, little did he know there was another cub's butt wiggling, preparing...  
"AHA!" Shani pounced on the unsuspecting boy's back, a little too hard which caused them to tumble in a brown and white blur.  
Once they stopped rolling she pinned Kuhti to the ground, grinning.  
"Hey, I was the one meant to be catching, not you!" he looked at her, still shocked.  
"Sorry Kuhti, I just got bored, but I scared you, huh?"  
"You sure did," he grinned pushing her off, "but I'll get you back, you wait!"

* * *

In the middle of their play session Kiara had come down to talk to Dumi. She had figured the princess would be playing with her son; she had taken quite a shining to him.  
"Hello Dumi," she greeted the older lioness with a smile.  
"Hello Kiara, searching for Shani?"  
"Yes and no, I figured she'd be here, I was hoping to talk to you about something," the Queen laid down next to Dumi.  
The cubs came walking back, nudging and pushing each other when they noticed their mothers talking.  
"Hey Mum, has there been some good news?" Kuhti asked, noticing her excited smile.  
"Oh, nothing that concerns you right now, just chatting with Kiara about something." Dumi answered.  
"Ok then." He smiled; little did he know that he and the princess had just been betrothed by their parents.  
Shani had been swatting at his tail, waiting for retaliation and she finally received it, when he playfully bit her ear and tumbled with her.  
Both cubs tired quickly though, they had been playing all morning, so they both snuggled with their mothers for a midday nap.


	3. Chapter 3: Heir

**Chapter 3: Heir**

As the bright sun started to peak into the den, Kovu woke his daughter, he needed to talk to her. She slowly prodded along after he father, eyes still blinking trying to adjust to the light. The large, well muscled lion lead her to the peak of Pride Rock.

"Shani, what do you see when you look out here?" Kovu asked her.  
"A bright sun, trying to blind me," she yawned, blinking away the water in her eyes.  
Kovu chuckled, "Come on, seriously, what do you see?"  
"I see your land, the Pride Lands, with all the herds grazing within them, all at utmost peace" she responded.  
"Uh.. yes, that's, very good." Kovu was slightly surprised at how mature that sounded coming from a cub. "Of course, that peace is kept because we respect them - we know how vital the herd animals are to our survival."  
The King told his daughter the same things he and his Queen were taught once, about the great Circle of Life. To his surprise she had been very quiet and attentive to his speech, not many cubs would sit still and be that alert for very long, he knew his daughter was going to be a great leader.

* * *

"Dad?" Shani turned to her father.  
"Yes Shani?" he pulled her closer and nuzzled her head.  
"Do you think I'll be a good Queen someday?" she asked, sounding concerned.  
"I know you will be."  
Shani rose up to lick her father's cheek and cuddled into his mane.  
Kiara walked out of the den, stopping to stretch her muscles and yawn.  
"Good morning" she trotted over, nuzzling into them both, "Shani! You know what we haven't done in a while?!"  
"What?!" she got excited from her mother's tone.  
"Given you a bath!" she grinned evilly and picked up the cub laughing, bringing her to her 'doom'.  
"Mum! Noooo! Not a bath," Shani frowned, which was only dramatised when her mother licked the loose skin towards her forehead, causing a great amount of it to build up on her face.  
Kovu stared at the scene and after a few seconds burst into laughter. Shani didn't appreciate the King's laughing fit and sulked until the whole process was over.

* * *

All the other lionesses were up now and once Kiara had finished bathing her daughter she went and rallied up some ladies for a hunt. Pini and Kuhti came over to Shani, both giving 'looks' to their mothers, Yumi and Dumi, who had given them baths. Funnily enough, even though both lionesses had similar names, they weren't related, and very much differed in colour; Yumi was a dark grey colour with a line of black dots under her eyes, whereas Dumi was a dark, almost black brown. Similar to their mothers, Pini and Kuhti were both the same colours, just lighter shades - Pini didn't have the dots like her mother though. _Why wasn't Shani like her parents?_

* * *

Pini was chatting away as usual while Shani was still deep in thought. Suddenly stopping, Pini asked her if she was alright.  
"What? Oh yes, sorry Pini, I was just in another world," she smiled warmly at her friend.  
Pini, satisfied with her answer continued babbling to both her and Kuhti. They listened out of respect for their friend, but there is only so much Pini anyone can take.  
"Hey, I wonder if Ata, Atala and Lito want to play with us today, maybe even Buhi" Kuhti pondered, "think we should go ask them?"  
"Oh yes!" Pini bounced towards their mothers.  
Shani nudged Kuhti in the shoulder, grinning "Smooth move."  
"Thanks" he responded raising his eyebrows, smirking.

* * *

Ata, Atala and Lito's mother said that they were allowed to play, as long as someone was watching. Buhi's mother was a bit less willing to let him go, but ended up caving in after a bit of coaxing. Vitani offered to watch the cubs as she wasn't busy today and thought it fair to let the lionesses rest for once. She regretted this choice not long after.  
"Vitani! Will you play hide and seek with us?" a little light-peach pelted cub jumped on her back, his orange hair tuft hanging in her face.  
"Lito, get off of me!" she swatted him off, not hard enough to hurt him, but to do the job.  
He landed on his feet and turned around to stare at her with his huge teal eyes "Pleaseeee?"  
Vitani looked and saw all the pleading faces staring in her direction, she sighed "Fine, 1, 2, 3.."  
"We're not ready yet!" Atala growled, searching for a place to run to.

* * *

It didn't take long for the cubs to run off and each find hiding spots. Shani was the first to find a spot as she was the fastest runner. Buhi tried to be smart and hid in a bush, right behind where Vitani was counting, he grinned to himself thinking he was a genius. Little did he know she could hear him making a ruckus behind her, but she decided to pretend not to hear it and give the cub a break.  
"…28, 29, 30!" Vitani shouted, "Ready or not, here I come!"

* * *

She found all of the cubs reasonably quickly, all except Lito. Everyone was getting bored waiting for Vitani to find him. Atala grumbled away, resting with her head in her paws. Ata getting sick of her sister's bad mood nudged her, which caused Atala to irritably nudge her back – they glared at each other for a while, but did not take it any further. Pini had finally taken a break from talking everyone's ears off and started to pursue a passing butterfly, much to everyone's joy. Vitani ran back over to the cubs, panting, looking worried.  
"Ok, does anyone know where Lito hid, I can't find him?" she asked desperately.  
"Last time I saw him he was over here," Kuhti took Vitani to a nearby tree.  
"He's not here either…" Vitani took a deep breath, "LITO! LITO WHERE ARE YOU? YOU WIN, COME OUT! **NOW**!"  
There was a rustling in the tree above, which Kuhti and Vitani assumed was a bird, but in a few minutes and descending peach blur appeared, colliding with Vitani. A loud _"Oomf!" _came from both parties.  
"Lito! I was so worried, I wasn't sure where you went off to, no more trees from now on!" Vitani spat harshly at the cub.  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare anyone." Vitani looked at the same teal eyes that had coaxed her into playing before - they were now looking quite guilty and sad.  
"Oh, it's alright Lito, you just scared me."

The whole group went back to Pride Rock as the hunting parties had come back with fresh kill. All cubs returned to their mothers and settled in for the night.


	4. Chapter 4: Irritable

**Chapter 4: Irritable**

Time had passed and now all the cubs were adolescents, getting taller, sleeker and forming vital muscles for future hunting/fighting. But not only that, they had also matured mentally, well, a bit at least. Shani and Kuhti had also become more confident and out-going as they matured - they could handle the other teenagers much better than when they were cubs. Although, Kuhti, Lito and Buhi tried furiously to impress the ladies with their manes, the girls giggled to each other about them when they weren't around.

* * *

Kuhti padded down the stones from Pride Rock, headed towards his friends, they were scheduled to go for a walk around the border, it was Shani's idea. The princess had already begun to think strategically about the lands she would have to protect one day. Kovu said it was actually a great idea, the fresh scents would show the pride was strong and had many different lions, he smiled to himself about how smart his daughter was becoming.

"About time fluff for brains," Atala commented on Kuhti's lateness.  
"Well excusseeee me for telling my mother where I'm going," he retorted, poking his tongue at the young, light brown lioness, "Where's Shani?"  
"I'm not sure, she was here just a second ago," Lito replied, looking around.  
Although being smart and serious when she needed to be, the princess could still have fun sometimes. There was a rustle in the grass.  
"Oh no you don't princess!" Kuhti threatened, following the noise.  
Kuhti pounced where the shuffling was happening, "AHA!" he grinned.  
"**AHHHH!**" Timon and Pumbaa screamed, staring up at the brown lion pinning them to the ground.  
"Oh, Kuhti, you just gave me a heart attack!" Timon dusted himself off, "Aww, great, you scared off all the good bugs!"  
"Sorry guys… I uh, thought you were Shani…" he muttered.  
This time someone else jumped out, and it was Shani.  
"Rah! Gotcha again," she pinned Kuhti, grinning a huge grin.  
"Every. single. time. Dang it Shani!" he laughed at the princess.  
Shani had landed awkwardly on her friend and it took her a bit longer to get up, which caused her to blush furiously.  
"Oh.. uh.. sorry. Just let me.. yeah, this should.. oh!" she had accidentally bumped noses with the lion.  
"Sorry" they both said, "It's fine."  
"_Awkwardddd_." Pumbaa commented.

* * *

"Will you two quit making out and come on, aren't we meant to be patrolling the border?" Buhi taunted his friends.  
The teens all started to trot along the border, chatting happily. Pini slowed down to jog next to Shani.  
"Soooo," she grinned at the princess, "Have fun this morning Shani?" she nudged her.  
"What?" Shani looked confused.  
"You know! You and Kuhti," she winked.  
"Huh! No! I just got stuck, it wasn't anything else." Shani snapped.  
"Ohhh, you like him!"  
"I do not!" Shani started to run faster, leading the group by herself.  
Kuhti had noticed her bad mood and decided to ask her what was going on.  
"You alright Shani?" he smiled at her.  
"I'm fine." She bluntly replied and moved forward again.  
Kuhti was so confused. _What did I do?_ He decided to shrug it off and leave her be for now.

After the walk was over, Shani said a quick "Bye.", to everyone and leapt up into the den. She didn't want to talk to anyone, she just wanted to go to bed. She awoke later in the night, seeing her mother and father's stomachs slowly rising and falling, realising she had slept right through dinner. Oh well, I'm not hungry anyway. She had almost forgotten about today's problem, until she glanced around and saw Kuhti. She glared at him almost immediately. Why? It wasn't his fault, Pini was the one who was being stupid, she thought, I had been pretty rude to Kuhti today too, I should apologise to him tomorrow. Shani had no idea why Pini's comments had been so infuriating, she didn't usually get mad so easily.


	5. Chapter 5: The Beginning

**Chapter 5: The Beginning **

Somewhere just outside the Pridelands a young lioness was searching through an elephant graveyard. She was scruffy in appearance, fairly lean (although strong enough), a dark-ish brown colour and she had a sharp, black nose.  
"Ugh, where are these mangy mutts, they must be here somewhere." She muttered, kicking bones out of her path.  
As she searched, sudden laughing came from all angles around her, reverberating from rebounding off the rocks. The laughing caused her to jump and spin around, searching for the laugh's creators.

"Hehe, _well_ what do we have here?" a menacing voice protruded from behind a rock.  
"Seems as though she's _alllllll_ alone, Kona" a second voice replied.  
"It _would _seem that way wouldn't it Zee. Hahahaaa!" Kona smiled as she walked towards the lioness. She was a large hyena, with tears in her ears and scars covering her body, she was fierce.  
"I've come to seek your help hyena" she said to Kona, who seemed to be the leader.  
"Hyena? Well aren't we high and mighty, big tone for such a **small** lioness." Kona spat in her face, teeth showing.  
"Sorry, Kona. I meant no disrespect." _I __**hate**__ these stupid dogs,_ she thought to herself.  
"That's better. Now, what is your name?" Kona asked.  
"Seera."

* * *

Meanwhile in the Pride lands, Shani had made it a point to apologise to Kuhti. As usual Kuhti was quick to forgive her, however when he asked why Shani was in a bad mood the day before she simply brushed it off. _Oh well_, he thought, _as long as it wasn't me.  
_They walked to the water hole and found their friends, all yelling and running around.  
"Woah! What's going on?" Kuhti called out to his friends.  
"MUD FIGHT!" Buhi yelled, flinging a gloopy, brown substance at Kuhti's face. The brown gloop had successfully found it's victim, causing the lion to first growl, but then laugh at himself.  
"Oh! I see how it is!" he grinned, "I'm going to get you Buhi!"  
The brown lion launched himself at his yellow friend and they tumbled about in the mud, when they both appeared, a thick layer of gunk was all over them.

"HAHA! You two look _**ravishing**_." Shani laughed at the boys.  
"_Oh yeah,_ Shani? Then maybe you should try a mud mask!" Buhi flung some mud at the princess, once again hitting his target.  
The look of shock that Shani possessed was a hilarious one, though it didn't last long. In a matter of seconds the princess herself had pinned Buhi into the wet dirt.  
Ata was quick to react, throwing herself at Shani and making them both roll in the brown mud.  
"Haha! We look ridiculous." Ata laughed, all the friends agreed.

The adolescents had all cleaned themselves after they had finished playing around. Shani may have thrown an extra bit of mud at Pini right after she had finished cleaning, not to be mean, just a bit annoying as pay back for yesterday. Pini only laughed, it seemed as if both had forgiven each other now.

"I'm sorry if I offended you yesterday Shani." Pini looked genuinely concerned.  
"It's alright Pini, I think I overreacted, I'm not usually that touchy," she hugged her friend.  
"I see you two are fine now" Kuhti said to the hugging grey and brown figure in front of him.  
"Yeah, we are."


End file.
